Short Wine Descriptions
Current vintage, AROMAS AND PALATE IMPRESSIONS, in suggested tasting order.
Click here for full wine information sheets.
WHITES
2008 Pinot Gris, Santa Lucia Highlands
This wine displays an array of fruit balanced by mineral and a floral presence. The nose includes: banana, pear, orange blossoms, grapefruit and a hint minerals. In the mouth additional notes of lime, minerals, and green apple are present. This is a rich Pinot Gris with more complexity than most – it remains crisp with a balanced finish. This wine would complement boldly flavored foods such as pesto, shellfish, ceviche, and poultry dishes.
2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey
This is a medium-bodied wine featuring orange blossoms, fresh pear and limestone rounded out by the sweet, succulent lemongrass characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc. Oak aging offsets overly aggressive flavors and adds an elegant texture. The 2008 Monterey Sauvignon Blanc complements Caesar salads, assorted crustaceans, poultry, and light pork dishes.
2007 Metallico Chardonnay, Monterey
Pale yellow in the glass, the wine showcases aromas of apple, nectarine, ripe pear, & honeydew melon on the nose. The aromas resound on the palate, and the wine is soft and round with a crispness that keeps the finish fresh and inviting for matching seafood and other light fare.
2007 Highland Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
Include crisp green apple, chestnut, walnut, minerals, pineapple, ripe pear, mango, lemon, and a hint of fresh cream and butterscotch. The wine has an underlying richness and intensity, with a lean, crisp, and minerally backbone that makes it a good candidate for aging. Its focus and elegant style give it a gracious presence at the table.
2007 Double L Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
Medium-rich on the palate with a nicely integrated acidity, mineral, tropical fruit, sweet spice, toasty oak, orange blossoms and pineapple on the nose. The palate shows additional notes of lemongrass, flint, creaminess, butterscotch, and apricot. This wine displays all the hallmarks of SLH Chardonnay: great fruit and richness, finished with a clean balanced acidity.
2006 Rosella's Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
Medium straw-gold color. On the nose, the wine shows ripe pear and passion fruit with a floral, nutty, sweet spice components. On the palate, additional flavors noted include nuts, minerals, citrus fruits, with a creamy mouthfeel and apricot and butterscotch. The wine is crisp and clean on the palate, with fruit & acidity in balance and lots of mineral notes. Malo-lactic richness and oak are supporting components in this wine.
2006 Double L Vineyard Hat Trick Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
Nose: walnuts, butterscotch, dried bananas, fig, pear, orange blossoms, vanilla, minerals, smoky oak, mango, violets, green apple; Palate: crisp, lemon-zest, vanilla, nutty, toasty oak, grapefruit, honeydew melon, apricot, flinty, creaminess.
REDS
2007 Twelve Clones Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Leather, toast, minerals and vanilla, with cherry-berry, rose petal, and some spicy/earthy notes, in a balanced and integrated style. Medium-bodied and broadly structured on the palate. The Santa Lucia Highlands typically produces wines of large-scale ripe fruit and a structured elegance. This cool vintage and the Morgan winemaking team created a wine with finely detailed fruit and a graceful style.
2006 Tondre Grapefield Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Medium deep in color. The nose shows raspberry, cloves, cola, black cherry and leather. On the palate, minerally terroir and apricot flavors are also noted. The wine reflects the cool 2006 vintage with its elegant, age-worthy style.
2006 Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Medium-deep in color. On the nose, the wine shows cherry, strawberry, blackberry and sweet spice notes. The palate shows additional qualities of strawberry jam and plum. The overall palate impression is of a wine that reflects the cool vintage qualities with its tight integration of fruit, acidity, and tannins, suggesting a wine that will be good for mid-term aging.
2006 Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
The wine shows a medium-deep color. On the nose, the wine shows cranberry, cherry, white chocolate, nutmeg, leather, vanilla and a suggestion of peppermint. On the palate, the wine shows additional notes of blackberry and white pepper.
2006 Double L Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
The wine shows a medium depth color. On the nose, the wine shows anise, cassis, fresh mint, with hints of nuts and cola. The palate impressions include black cherry, vanilla, toasty oak, cranberry, fresh herbs, leather. The wine shows breadth across the palate, with acidity and structure that suggest the wine will age well.
2006 Double L Vineyard Hat Trick Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
The wine shows a deep ruby color with purple-black highlights. On the nose, the wine shows black cherry, cassis, anise, mineral, spice and cola. The palate impressions include additional notes of cranberry, toast, vanilla and leather.
2007 Cotes du Crow's, Monterey
Medium-rich ruby red color with blue-black highlights. Nose and palate impressions of violets, blueberry jam, mint, pomegranate, strawberry, spice, and pepper. Medium-bodied, soft tannins. A versatile food wine, it walks the fine line between being a substantial wine and a wine that is easy to enjoy.
2007 Syrah, Monterey
The bouquet includes a powerful combination of blackberries, plum, leather and black pepper. Pepper continues onto the palate loaded with additional notes of black cherry, chocolate, leather and roasted coffee. Tannins are present, folded deeply into the flavor structure of the wine, striking an elegant balance. The color is saturated black/purple. The quality of the fruit and the tannin structure suggest a wine that will continue to develop and improve for some time.
2006 Tierra Mar Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands
The color is a very rich, saturated purple-black color. The nose suggests wild blueberry, blackberry, sage, mineral and lavender. On the palate, the wine is powerful, structured and balanced, with ripe, cool climate Syrah as the wine's focus.
2006 Double L Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands
The wine has a deeply saturated purple-black color. On the nose, the wine shows some complexity with dark berry fruit competing with mineral, lavender, white pepper for attention. On the palate, the wine shows tension between the ripe fruit, acidity, and tannins.
ONE SENTENCE "Timeless" Descriptions, in suggested tasting order.
WHITES
Pinot Gris, Santa Lucia Highlands
A crisp, clean, "Cal-sace" styled wine, firmly fruity and intense with lime-citrus and mineral notes on the palate.
Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey
Intense gooseberry, grapefruit, and sweet grass aromas with lively acidity with bright fruit are offset by the richness of Semillon and a deft touch of barrel contact.
Metallico Chardonnay, Monterey
Bright green apple fruit, offset by refreshing acidity and minerality.
Highland Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
Integrated flavors of ripe apple & pear fruit, a creamy texture, and bright acidity with stylistic integrity to the grape and its Santa Lucia Highlands origins.
Double L Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
The finest lots from Morgan's organically grown Double L Vineyard are chosen for this bottling, which showcases powerful, minerally fruit offset with crisp acidity and rich texture.
Rosella's Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
Richly flavored and racy, with mineral notes, acidity, and subtle oak shadings that keep the wine balanced and food friendly.
Double L Vineyard Hat Trick Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
The three finest, small lots from Double L Vineyard, combining richness and elegance in a balanced, powerful wine.
REDS
Twelve Clones Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Ripe black cherry fruit, yet elegant and refined, with notes of black cherry, cranberry, spice, and mineral on the nose and palate.
Tondre Grapefield Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
A soft and full bodied wine with cranberry and blackberry with a light herbal perfume on the nose, giving way to blueberry and chocolate flavors supported by firmly integrated tannins.
Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Richly textured yet retaining classic Pinot Noir delicacy and detailed, bing cherry fruit, offset with the classic, earthy terroir notes of the appellation.
Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Complex and finely detailed black cherry and rose blossom notes are showcased along with the minerally terroir of the region.
Double L Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Delicacy and power show equally with the black cherry fruit and earthy terroir notes in this Pinot Noir, chosen from Morgan's best Dijon clones.
Cotes du Crow's, Monterey
Spicy, rich blackberry Syrah & bright, strawberry/rhubarb Grenache fruit; finishes with white pepper and a softly tannic finish.
Syrah, Monterey
A deep purple color gives way to blackberry, blueberry, violets and spicy aromatic notes, rich fruit on the palate, and finishes with soft, integrated tannins.
Tierra Mar Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands
A powerful, classically Northern Rhone style interpretation of Monterey Syrah. Deeply colored, with a tightly wound structure, showing ripe blackberry fruit and spice.
Double L Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands
A Northern Rhone style wine, showing bright cranberry, plum, and blueberry fruit with graphite and mineral notes.
More detailed, ONE PARAGRAPH "Timeless" Descriptions, in suggested tasting order.
WHITES
Pinot Gris, Santa Lucia Highlands
With fruit sourced from the R & D Vineyard, Morgan's Pinot Gris is produced in a dry Alsatian style. Initial tank fermentation is finished in older oak barrels, which allows the wine to develop complexity and texture. Lime citrus and mineral notes, with a crisp and firmly fruity finish.
Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey
Produced from southern Monterey County Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Sauvignon Musque. The nose shows good intensity with herbal, gooseberry, grapefruit, and sweet grass aromas and flavors. A deft touch of Bordeaux barrel contact adds texture. The flavors are carried in a crisp, lively fashion on the palate that keeps the fruit as the focus. This balanced wine concludes with a complex, lengthy finish.
Metallico Chardonnay, Monterey
Selected from the most aromatic and intensely flavored lots, the Metallico Chardonnay is tank fermented and does not undergo any malo-lactic fermentation. Some lees stirring softens thei wine and develop complexity. The bright, crisp, green-apple fruit flavors are offset by a medium-weight texture and showcases the natural intensity of region's fruit and the mineral qualities of the vineyards.
Highland Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
Produced from top vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands, this wine is 100% barrel fermented and barrel aged 10-11 months on the lees. The natural intensity of Monterey fruit and it's natural acidity offsets the creamy texture. The wine shows apple and pear flavors, with a rich mid-palate offset by lively acidity.
Rosella's Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
From Gary Franscioni's Rosella's Vineyard, three miles south of Double L. Rosella's Chardonnay shows the deep mineral, apple, and lemon zest aromas and flavors along with a toasty French oak element. The natural high acidity of the cool region sets it all off and keeps it fresh on the palate.
Double L Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
A classically balanced wine, with the complexity that reminds one of old world wines, yet showing new world richness. Green apple and pear are noted along with gingersnap, fresh cream and mineral notes. Richly textured with plenty of crisp acidity, the integration of fruit, terroir, French oak and acidity is apparent in a long and harmonious finish.
Double L Vineyard Hat Trick Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
The three small, finest lots from Morgan's organically grown Double L Vineyard are chosen for this wine. The powerful structure is authentically derived from the cool, windy climate and the terroir shows through the organically farmed fruit..
REDS
Twelve Clones Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
This wine showcases the strawberry, black cherry & cassis fruit of the appellation with spice and mineral qualities. Many tasters note similarities to wines from the Cote de Beaune. Complexity is built with a minimum of twelve different clonal varieties of Pinot Noir in the blend, and the style shows structure while maintaining finesse.
Tondre Grapefield Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Tondre's is a multi-clonal vineyard, approximately 4 miles south of Double L Vineyard. The wine is soft and round on the palate, with big cranberry and blackberry fruit flavors, along with blueberry, toast, spice and chocolate notes.
Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Garys' Vineyard is a bit warmer than Rosella's and Double L Vineyards, and is comprised entirely of the Pisoni clone. This terrific vineyard shows rich bing cherry fruit in the wines, a rich, supple texture, and as typical for this appellation, racy mineral and terroir notes that give the wines added complexity.
Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Three miles south of Double L, Rosella's wines show a tightly focused perspective on SLH Pinot Noir. The vineyard is planted to mixed Dijon clones, and shows classic black cherry and floral notes along with hints of minerality that define wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands.
Double L Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
The top clonal performers are chosen for Double L Pinot Noir. The cool climate keeps acidity high and keeps the fruit in equal tension with the minerally terroir notes. Finely detailed on the palate, with length, focus, and elegance over a powerful structure.
Cotes du Crow's, Monterey
A blend of Syrah and Grenache, this "Hillside of the Crow's" is Morgan's ode to the spicy, full flavored wines of the Southern Rhone. Rich in blackberry and strawbery fruit, with spicy overtones and soft tannins.
Syrah, Monterey
A Syrah of style and grace and Northern Rhone styled power. The color is deep purple, with flavors of blackberry, violets, lavender, and black pepper on the nose and palate.
Tierra Mar Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands
Our finest barrels of Syrah were selected for their outstanding characteristics for our "Terroir by the Sea" Syrah. Classic cassis and blackberry fruit with deeply saturated purple/garnet color. A full-bodied wine, with balance and a focused structure.
Double L Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands
From one of the coolest Syrah vineyards in California, this wine shows a rich black-purple color, with loads of graphite & mineral + wild blackberry and hucklebery fruit on the nose. The palate shows it's cool climate origins with it's complexity and balance of fruit, acidity, tannins, and terroir.
